Content that left a deep impression on me and my life

The weekly prompt of Blogchatter under their Bloghop series was to write about 'your favourite piece of content' that impacted life in a big way. I have been drawn to the so called "Self improvement" books right from a young age. Perhaps, it has to do with a little book I received as a prize in an elocution competition at school titled "Success in 30 days". Its content was motivating with plenty of quotes and stories of  "Successful"people from all over the world. If I remember correctly, the tips in the book  included discipline, hard work and perseverance. 

It was much later that I came across the book with the "Favourite piece of content" titled  "The Power of the Subconscious Mind" by Dr Joseph Murphy. I was bowled over by the contents  as it revealed the secret that  If we learn to tap into the  power of the subconscious mind, "whatever it is we want" in life will automatically be delivered by it  easily and effortlessly . 

It is a lot more difficult and painstaking job to convince the conscious mind to do our bidding. As for example, we know consciously  that it is good for us to get up early in the morning and go for a jog of 45 to 60 minutes. We try to convince the conscious mind repeatedly to stand by us in our mission. Yet, when the alarm rings, the hand unconsciously moves to 'snooze' button and we go back to sleep for "some more time". When  the same message is given to the subconscious mind (in an alpha/ meditative state), it  makes it happen auto pilot . 

"The law of attraction" which has gained a lot of currency in recent times operates on the same principle. The content in  " The Power of the subconscious Mind" gives us information as to how we can use this power for healing (physical & mental), attracting happiness,  money, good relationships, peace & harmony . The subconsious mind  also comes to our aid for taking difficult decisions effectively in our best interests. I am sharing below the following para from the book which talks about "How to receive guidance from your subconscious mind". 

"  When you have what you term a "difficult decision" to make or when you fail to see the solution to your problem, begin at once to think constructively about it. If you are fearful and worried, you are not really thinking.True thinking if free from fear. 

Here is a simple technique you can use to receive guidance on any subject. Quiet the mind and still the body.Tell the body to relax; it has to obey you. It has no volition, initiative or self conscious intelligence.Your body is an emotional disk which records your beliefs and impressions..Mobilize your attention:focus your thought on the solution to your problem. Try to solve it with your consious mind.Think how happy you would be with the perfect solution. Sense the feeling you would have if the perfect answer was yours now. Let your mind play with this mood in a relaxed way; then drop off to sleep. When you awaken and you do not have the answer, get busy about something else.Probably when you are preoccupied with something else, the answer will come into your mind, like toast pops out of a toaster."  

NB: It is to be noted that we drop naturally into an alpha state twice in 24 hours-  (1) at night, just  before drifting into the  sleep state and (2) in the early morning just before coming out from sleep to awake state. At other times we can attain this state through self hypnosis/ meditation. 

The readers would have understand by now as to why the content of this book captivated and made a deep impression on me.  There is so much to learn  from it that one would do well to revisit the book often to derive maximum benefit. A  lot of my approach to life has been molded by this "favourite content". So there it is, I have responded to the prompt - " My favourite piece of content that left a deep impression on me and my life".   

This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com . 

If your Diary spoke to you...

 

The weekly prompt of Blogchatter under their bloghop series was to write about a conversation with your diary. So here goes...

" Hi, How do you do? I have been trying to speak to you for the last couple of days. But you have been ignoring me." 

" Well you had forgotten that I even existed. You think of me now, after so many years simply because Blogchatter has asked you to talk to me. You are what they say in Hindi "Matlabi (an opportunist) !" 

" Really sorry about that, dear diary. You have always been a wonderful companion - solace in difficult times and a joy while recording and reading about the good times." 

" so then, why did you ignore me for so long?"  

"Look, I didn't do it intentionally and you know that. I remember I first turned to you in the year 1983 on the advice of  Prof Sreenivasan, an author who said "Rajeev, keep an account of whatever happens in your daily life. You can revisit it periodically to gain insights."  I followed that advice for some time and then the rumble and tumble of working in a corporate took over and there was no time to write diaries. 

" Now, don't give excuses. You stopped writing around the time you got married and started a family." 

" Well, ok that also added to the problem of becoming busy and not finding time to write." 

" Yet, you turned to me once again  years later when working for Hyundai Motor India Ltd." 

" Ah, yes. I resumed writing once again when a trainer friend presented me a diary with  a title on the  cover that read "The Book of Happiness". She suggested recording  in it  all happy  instances and incidents that occured everyday. It was in  that phase that  I was associated a lot with you. I also enjoyed recording about the official trip to US for the Hyundai Global L&D meet at the Alabama plant . I continued enaging with this avatar (version)  of yours until you almost ran out of pages. Guess, we should not give a break to the activity. If you do that, lethargy sets in. " 

" Would you like to share with readers some of the things you had recorded on my pages?" 

" Oh sure, here is an account of  a work day as HOD of Learning & Development department in Hyundai. 

8/7/20011 

Today I took the Law of Attraction (LOA) class for the Graduate Engineering Trainees. It was a big hit. One of the participants, Sriman came and told me during break that he earnestly believed that this input will open doors and provide solutions for the difficulties he faced in achieveing goals. I told him that I could teach him EFT (Emotional freedom technique) to remove the blocks and doubts to enable practising of LOA without hurdles. He was very enthused by the offer and said he would give up his lunch to learn it. Seeing his enthusiasm, I requested the faculty of the session before lunch on 'security' to grant him permission to leave half an hour earlier during which time I taught Sriman EFT. He was very happy and so was I. 

On returning home at night , I watched the Airtel Star singer musical competition program on Vijay TV. I was happy to learn that the judges had decided not to eliminate any contestant after the "Devotional songs" round. All the kids had sung very well and deserved to be retained.  

Now a page on the US visit to our Alabama plant. 

6/10/2011  

On the second day of the conference, we visited the factory and were taken on a tour of the plant by Mr Tim of Public relations department. An exserviceman, he was superb in his presentation  with a high level of clarity and quality of language. We went through the plant on a moving vehicle and could see the employees at work. One interesting thing we noticed was that, unlike as in India there were a good number of women employees (strong & well built) working on the shop floor engaged in  activities requiring physical exertion. Tim urged us to wave to the employees and call some of them by name. Many waved back at us and we cheered calling out loudly "Go Hyundai!" Later, we had a group photo with the head of the plant.

Subsequently, we went to the training center and made our presentations about the learning & development activities of our respective home units. During discussion, the concept of AI (Appreciative inquiry) and sharing of positive stories came up. I articulated my own understanding of AI in simple and clear terms.My presentation on the GHRDS implementation was well appreciated. I also gave my views on the exhibits in the 'Gallary walk' and thoroughly enjoyed the process. During the two days we spent at the Alabama plant, I learnt to say "My name is Rajeev" in Portuguese from one of the delegates.On the last day we returned from the plant straight to the 'Country club' for an elaborate, finale dinner. This time the car was driven by Nancy who shared her experiences of working for Hyundai and life in America. It was a nice, rewarding experience conversing with her.  

" Look at the amount of impact I had made in your life- capturing the key moments of your life on my pages! "

" So true dear diary. I have resolved to not let go of you, from now on . I plan to make you an indespensible part of my life."

"Hey thanks. Only I hope you keep your word this time and not get lost in, as you say "the rumble and tumble of day to day life." 

• NB: This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com    

Courage (Tiny story in 100 words)

She smiled at him every day at the office giving him those special glances. He liked her too, yet checked himself from responding.

One day, he took courage, smiled back and asked her whether she would join him for lunch at 2 PM at the restaurant in the next building. She nodded happily.

 She waited for him from 1.45PM. But even after the clock struck 2.30 PM, there was no sign of him. He had got cold feet. We are living in “dangerous times” he thought - too many hassles in the proposition. After all, they belonged to different communities... 

Of Men and Women

Was it a person or book that said

"Women are from Venus and 

men from Mars" ? Never mind, as in spite of

differences, the sexes have managed to be together! 

Even as,  "familiarity breeds contempt" 

the genders have managed to hold on ...

embracing the quote " familiarity breeds concern"

Yet, modern living has made both

a lot more self absorbed, more demanding

seemingly declaring " I will give you love & respect

only after you give it to me first"

the universal law though, reminds us 

"If you want something, give it "  

I recited the poem at the Kavyakaumudi International multilingual poets group meeting on 29th October 2022 and also proposed a vote of thanks.

An Uncommon Day at the Restaurant

The latest weekly prompts of Blogchatter under the Bloghop series for the week 20th to 26th September did not create the required spark in me to write about them. I was wondering what to do when an idea struck me. As I was travelling during Onam festival season, I had missed writing on a prompt ( for 6th to 12 September 2022) that read " You are sitting in a coffee shop, reading a book when....". I asked myself   " Why not write on the said prompt?" So here I am attempting it. It is purely a fictional account of what happens to a retired person on a given day.

One of my routines after retirement has been to leave home after breakfast at around 10 AM  and dash off straight to the public library. I would spend two to three hours and return home for lunch. Occasionally, when in the mood I would enter the "Harry's" restuarant, order coffee and complete a book that I had not finished reading to be able to return it when I visited the library. Sometimes, I just peeped in to see if any old friends were there in the restaurant. If  'yes', I entered to have a chat and reminiscence of old times. Harry's had grown with our town and it is today a grand old landmark . The  business was started in the year 1964 by a couple of youngsters in their twenties. Young people like us at that time used to flock to that place as it was more of a meeting place than eating place. There used to be so much energy in the air! We discussed everything from the movies to politics and social issues. 

With time, the place grew and we continued to visit to meet good old pals. Of course, we were no longer young and our appetite for food had also declined. But the owners had a soft corner for us . They had one hall set aside for use  mostly by the old timers.  When the business changes hands to the next/ younger generation, we cannot hope to enjoy privileges such as order a cup of tea  and sit in the restaurant for as long as we want. But, for now we are making the most of it! 

I remember clearly. It was  a Friday. I had ordered my coffee, opened my book and read a couple of pages, The waiter would come slowly. He knew I was not in a hurry. Then it happened. Gun shots, screaching and screaming from the other side of the restaurant, where the brisk business took place.  The few of us in our part of the restaurant looked at each other in shock. We rushed to the other side to know what happened. The waiter and the manager stopped us mid way and said "Every thing is okay. Please return to your seats, Just then, we could hear the wails of an ambulance rushing to the doorstep of the restaurant. A  police jeep arrived soon after. 

We, the senior citizens reluctantly went back to our side of the restaurant. But this time we did not go back to our individual tables but huddled around a couple of them and spoke in hushed voices. Everyone speculated and shared  their thoughts on what could have happened. One person checked his mobile for any "Breaking news". There were none. After  spending a little while longer, we decided to disperse. One guy said he would hang around and would get to the other side, unnoticed. 

I decided to go back home. I was no longer in the  mood  to visit the library.  When I reached home, my wife opened the front door in a flash and was relieved to see me safe. She knew I visited Harrys often. "It is all over the place in the TV news channels " she said. " Six yougsters including two girls  had  been to Harry's when they had an arguement over one of the girls. One of them was carrying his father's gun and started shooting wildly. A girl and a boy have been seriously injured and rushed to the hospital." I sighed and mumbled "It all happened when I was there, on the other side of the restaurant. A senior citizen can no longer look forward to a quiet retired life...."  

• NB: This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com 

Personal Milestone

The weekly prompt of Blogchatter under their Bloghop series was to write either on ( a) Basic aspects of an 'ideal' blog or (b) One personal milestone that you are proud of. I pondered over the choices and felt that the former would mean giving tips for ideal blogging. There is plenty of material already out there giving advice on the subject. I therefore thought I would write about the 'personal milestone'. 

However, on pondering further I realized that an important milestone for me was completing 10 years of consistent blogging - to be alive and engaged in the activity even after so many years. I say this because when I started blogging in 2012, there were many bloggers whose work I got to read, appreciate and admire in the blogger's community, Indiblogger. Yet, today barring a few, their writing is no longer visible in the blogging world. It does no good to "start with a bang and end with a whimper". I see this post  as an opportunity to simply share my journey so that readers can take away whatever they find suitable or appropriate to their situation.  

I first started with a professional blog in prose titled "HRDian Speak" wherein I shared my experiences  working as an HR executive in various roles and areas such as learning and development, industrial relations and corporate policy. This was soon followed by another blog (called Spontaneous Overflow) for creative writing featuring more of poetry and a little of prose ( interviews, short stories and articles). Subsequently, I started a blog for writing exclusively corporate poetry. One matter of satisfaction is that I have been writing consistently. Moving from one blog to another with varied subject matter (switching from prose to poetry and viceversa)  gives me the variety and freedom from monotony.  

One of the guiding thoughts for me in all these years was to write what I enjoy. I was not looking for things to write simply because it is the 'hot cake' subject of the day. It had to be on something that I believed in and  my thoughts are unambiguously expressed irrespective of whether or not it is the current popular view. The material in my blog served as fodder for writing my maiden book " Straight from the Heart- Thoughts and Experiences of an HR Professional". This was followed by the book "Corporate poems- Straight & Simple" which also found ready material in my blogs. Taking part in the A2Z challenge of Blogchatter for two years provided the material for two more books- "Random Thoughts on random words" and "26 Verses and 26 prose notes on 26 lofty topics." 

Consistent blogging for ten years has meant that I can bring out more books as and when I choose to do so. Having said that, I must confess that my focus has been mainly on the writing and not building a solid readership base with SEO and other digital marketing techniques. So much so, readers come and go and I have been happy if I my readers can relate to or benefit from the blog. A reader, Ankit Sharma had written to me thus and I incorporated it in the blurb of my maiden book " At one time, I did not end my day without reading Mr Rajeev's articles in his blog, searching for new topics and concepts in HR. I found him a good motivator and coach, guiding young professionals to excel in their career." To me, it has always been about the relevant people finding and benefiting from my blog rather than having a huge number, giving a thumbs up to a material they haven't cared to read. 

As a blogger, my priority is to post my work in my blog. When you send your poems/writing to anthologies, there could be a delay of months between the creation and the actual publication as time is required for compilation and completing the process of publication. Therefore, I choose the few anthologies to which to contribute in a year. The USP in all my writing, be it professional  prose articles or poetry, is to keep it simple. Using a lot of jargons may give an impression of the writer being a knowledgeable intellectual. I prefer though to sacrifice that for clarity and easy understanding of my readers. 

Looking back, I have a sense of satifaction based not necessarily on the popular or societal criteria but my own criteria of success- After all, it is no mean matter to write consistently for a decade and have readers who can relate to what you have to say...  

NB: This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop www.theblogchatter.com . 

Guidance for the Ultimate Destination

On a given day, someone or the other

is happy with you or annoyed with you

for what you did or didn't do...

 

Looking to others for approval

all the time, to determine your state of happiness 

is so Yo Yo, -  such a draining experience! 

Letting the internal signals, rather than the outside

 provide feedback on our contentment, well being 

letting them be the guiding light, for way forward 

makes life so simple, uncomplicated..

All else can be misleading 

too much effort for a mirage  

when love, peace of mind 

was always there, inside of us 

quietly waiting to be discovered...

:NB This poem has been included in the international anthology "Kaleidoscope" published by International culture center, Kolkatta.